NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC “LION” — AN EPIC FOUR-PART EVENT SERIES THAT FOLLOWS A CUB’S EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY TO BECOME A KING
I had the pleasure of speaking with Faith Musembi, Producer and Director of Chapter 2 “A Band of Brothers.” Musembi is a Kenyan producer and director whose work includes QUEENS, INCREDIBLE ANIMAL JOURNEYS and CHASING THE RAINS. She is also the founder of the Nuru Film Institute, a Maasai Mara-based training hub dedicated to cultivating the next generation of African wildlife storytellers.
From “The Lion King” director Jon Favreau and BBC Studios executive producer Mike Gunton comes the extraordinary true story of a lion cub named Kio on his epic journey to become a king. Filmed over four years, this sweeping saga of family, hope and courage follows Kio as he grows from a vulnerable cub into a powerful leader. Along the way, he faces loss, exile and fierce rivals in a fight to survive.
Combining cinematic storytelling with groundbreaking natural history filmmaking, this series captures the complete coming-of-age story of a lion — and the remarkable making of a king.
INTERVIEW W/ Faith on Broadway’s Lion King Set
GGG: Hi, excited to speak with Faith again. So, as a producer-director who specializes in natural history narratives that showcase the beauty of Africa’s natural resources and highlight the complex issues surrounding their sustainable conservation, how does your work amplify the dialogue about conserving its finite resources?
FAITH: I love that. I’ve never been quoted my bio back as a question. But, I mean, that’s the thing. As an African that’s working in this industry, which is a really rare thing, you would think, oh, all these natural history series are filmed in Africa. There should be a lot of African filmmakers that work on them. That’s not the case. So as one of the unique Africans working on this, I get to have a deep appreciation of how finite everything is. We’re not always going to have these lions.
We’re not always going to have the natural world as it is. So my ambition, this small thing I feel I can do is create content or tell stories that remind people how precious and incredible and amazing all this is, but it’s got a timestamp, and we need to do our parts if we don’t have to lose all of that.
GGG: Yeah, because I found that so interesting that you mentioned a lot of them are from the UK, and I was very surprised to learn that, as you just mentioned that, like a lot of Africans aren’t when it’s basically their home and backyard and what you’re familiar with in Kenya. Can you tell us a little bit about working on Lion? And we mentioned in the junket about, like, your producer and the behind-the-scenes clips of your life and being on set, what it was like?
FAITH: Oh man. It’s a rare thing to be on set for a wildlife film. It’s even rarer for me as a Kenyan woman to be working on a Kenyan production. I think what we can all relate with is we all have identities and the culture we come from, and any time you don’t feel represented, that just—there’s just something where you feel like you lose a part of your identity. So to be Kenyan and to be working on a production filming in Kenya about Kenyan lions, that’s so special, and I’m hoping we’ll see more of that, that we’ll see more African filmmakers finding their way into this industry.
And the reason it’s in the UK, it’s because it’s the British people that came up with the genre. So it makes sense that that’s where the industry would be, but we’re not saying British people don’t make this content. We’re saying there’s enough room at the table for all of us, and we actually all need to be at the table, because the issue of conservation isn’t a one person or a one culture problem. It’s a global problem. Thank you.
EP. 2: CHAPTER 2. A Band of Brothers. Against all odds, Kio survives a buffalo attack, but his troubles are far from over. At 12 weeks old, he is the youngest and most vulnerable member of the pride. To have any hope of one day becoming king, he must earn the respect of his older brothers and find his place among them. Just as he is finally able to gain their acceptance, the dry season sets in, and food becomes scarce. This leaves Summer to make an extraordinary decision to protect Kio’s future.
Air Date: 08/19/2026
Premiering August 19 on National Geographic and streaming August 20 on Disney+ and Hulu, LION is an unprecedented natural history series that follows a single lion cub, Kio, on an extraordinary journey from vulnerable cub to king. Four years in the making and filmed across nearly 1,400 production days, the series combines National Geographic’s signature cinematic wildlife storytelling with Favreau’s mastery of character-driven narrative to deliver a real-life saga of family, power, survival and transformation.
With stunning cinematography, an emotional score led by Academy Award® winner Hans Zimmer and Bleeding Fingers Music Group, and intimate access to one of the Maasai Mara’s most compelling lion prides, LION offers a true-to-life coming-of-age story that echoes the themes audiences have long loved in THE LION KING.
LION is Executive Produced by “The Lion King” Director Jon Favreau and BBC Studios Natural History Unit’s Mike Gunton, With the Score Composed by Hans Zimmer’s Bleeding Fingers Music
LION Airs Aug. 19 on National Geographic and Streams Aug. 20 on Disney+ and Hulu
From “The Lion King” director Jon Favreau and BBC Studios executive producer Mike Gunton comes the extraordinary true story of a lion cub named Kio on his epic journey to become a king. Filmed over four years, this sweeping saga of family, hope and courage follows Kio as he grows from a vulnerable cub into a powerful leader. Along the way, he faces loss, exile and fierce rivals in a fight to survive. Combining cinematic storytelling with groundbreaking natural history filmmaking, this series captures the complete coming-of-age story of a lion — and the remarkable making of a king.
Explore the World with National Geographic subscriptions: https://natgeo.com/ytngmagazine
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- (Interview) National Geographic’s Lion: From Cub to King – Faith Musembi (Producer & Director Chapter 2)
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